Not able to attend the HIMSS conference this year? No worries. We've put together a list of some highlights from the conference and some newly posted resources from CMS that provide even more information on one of the many hot topics this year at HIMSS, the Merit-based Incentive Payment System.

A recent Medscape study found that self-employed physicians are more satisfied in their profession than employed physicians (63% vs 55%). However, the Employed Doctors Report 20161 states that twice as many doctors (27% vs. 13%) have switched from independent practice to employed. But why?

This year's Physicians Practice Physician Compensation survey revealed some interesting insights into the financial burdens physicians are experiencing. The survey not only gathered insight into things like overhead costs and personal income but also touched on how practices have been affected by high-deductible insurance plans.

Whether you already have a medical billing company taking care of your revenue cycle management, or you are in search of one to help you improve your revenue, there are many things to consider. Partnering with a billing service can often be a long term agreement that will have a lasting impact on the financial health of your practice. Here we'll cover the 5 most important things your medical billing company (if you choose to outsource) should be doing for your practice on a regular basis to help you accelerate your revenue cycle.

It's clear that the American people are heavily burdened with the rising cost of prescription drugs, and patients aren't the only ones that are affected. Physicians have become increasingly concerned with the impact of rising prescription drug costs on the industry, as well as on the national economy.

Independent health care providers are facing more challenges today than ever before. With changes in payment models and reimbursement methods, competition with a large group of employed physician practices, and changes in patients’ insurance coverage, a practice can be at risk for decreased revenue and increased financial instability. Having an efficient Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) process and integrated electronic health records (EHRs) software can help mitigate financial risk of course, but there are also other key areas that independent clinics can focus on in order to drive success in the face of changing reimbursement.

Although it's considered best practice to collect co-payments at the time of service, things don't always happen that way. Sometimes your office is understaffed, or the patient doesn't have the co-payment required, or another issue may arise that prevents collections from happening on the date of service. If this becomes a habit, however, then you are setting yourself and your practice up for long term collection and medical billing issues.

In the next few years, the existence of clinical and financial business intelligence is expected to grow significantly, according to the HIMSS Analytics 20161 Clinical & Business Intelligence (C&BI) Essentials Brief. And rightly so, seeing that clinical and business intelligence is essential for healthcare organizations looking to reduce costs and move to data-driven healthcare improvements.

Between declining reimbursement, new incentive programs, and keeping pace with the competitive industry of healthcare, healthcare managers and leaders are in a constant struggle to become more efficient and effective. Healthcare is becoming increasingly complex, and juggling these modern day challenges while still being a good leader and providing effective care for patients can be challenging to say the least.

Independently owned clinics - particularly specialty clinics - may find the process of getting physician referrals to be daunting. There are multiple reasons for this. For one thing, the number of specialist categories has grown in the past decade, so there are more types of specialists for patients to be sent to. At the same time, there are more multispecialty groups that refer to specialists within the group, while many smaller clinics are being purchased by hospitals where internal referrals dominate.

Burnout is an occupational hazard for high achievers, so it's no surprise that it is becoming more common and severe among physicians, who tend to be very high-achieving individuals. Physicians who face burnout are often the ones who are most passionate about what they do, making burnout more difficult to detect and prevent.

Disruption by technology has affected more industries than it has left alone, and many involve things you do and use every day. For example, Facebook Messenger disrupted SMS messaging, Amazon disrupted eBooks, and Uber disrupted the taxi industry. Healthcare is no exception, experiencing disruption in the form of telemedicine, new devices, and new care delivery paradigms.

Remember in 2012 when CMS issued a rule requiring healthcare providers who discover past overpayments by Medicare or Medicaid to refund it within 60 days or risk the overpayment being labeled as a false claim? Well the final rule was published by CMS just last month (February). Here's what you need to know about the Medicare Overpayment Final Rule.

Referrals offer a connection a little more solid than a new patient who finds you via Google search or in the Yellow Pages. When you get a word-of-mouth referral, your existing patient is acting as a "salesperson," and it costs you very little compared to the cost of advertising your practice. Increasing the number of referrals from patients can help fill your schedule and in turn grow your practice.

Looking for new ways to grow your practice and increase revenue? It's not just a matter of drawing in more patients who need the medical services you provide. Many physicians have strategically determined ancillary services that can bring in more money from their existing client base in order to fight the neverending battle of declining reimbursement.